Numbers, numbers on the wall, how is the fairest Cape of all?
The new 2025 State of Conservation Report by CapeNature provides sobering data on the threatened state of the habitats on which the Western Cape’s endemic and unique species depend.
More than half of its ecosystem types, 191 of 350, are threatened despite the work of CapeNature and conservation partners to mitigate the effects of pollution, expanding land use by people, invasive alien species, wildfires and climate change.
The Western Cape is not the only province with ecosystems at risk, said Dr Andrew Skowno , the scientific lead for the National Biodiversity Assessment for 2025, to be released later this year. The Richtersveld of the Northern Cape and the coastline of KwaZulu-Natal are among other habitats under immense pressure, he said at CapeNature's recent annual review.
Six of South Africa’s 22 strategic water source areas are entirely in the Western Cape and the state of its freshwater ecosystems is dire, the report warned.
Greater protection for such ecosystems is needed: more than a third of the Western Cape’s freshwater ecosystems lack protection. Of 138 freshwater ecosystems, 101 are threatened and 73 are red listed as critically endangered.
Sixteen of 25 shoreline ecosystems are threatened but none of them critically, unlike the province’s estuarine ecosystems where nine of them are critically endangered — out of the 44 threatened of a total of 54.
But there is a green lining to the report’s red alerts. With partners such as private landowners, communities and researchers, CapeNature has added 13,000ha to the protected areas network of the Western Cape, bringing more than a million hectares under conservation since April this year.
Ecologically important land has been secured through stewardship agreements with landowners outside formal reserves, said local government, environmental affairs and development planning MEC Anton Bredell.
The resilience of our ecosystems and the services they provide is key to the well-being of the people
— Dr Ashley Naidoo, CapeNature CEO
New species discovered
“The resilience of our ecosystems and the services they provide is key to the wellbeing of the people of the Western Cape and the long-term sustainability of the province,” said CapeNature CEO Dr Ashley Naidoo at the two-day review held at the University of the Western Cape.
“This report provides insights to where we are succeeding, where challenges remain, and how we can collectively respond, with the help of our partners.”
Gerhard Gerber, head of environmental affairs and development planning for the Western Cape (of which CapeNature is an entity) said the province’s apex priority was jobs and its efforts should be “serving citizens now and in the future”.
He celebrated CapeNature’s 43% year on year increase in eco-tourism and 16% growth in visitor numbers. Conservation officers support the work of monitoring species and habitats, as do conservation-minded citizens by reporting on apps such as iNaturalist.
Newly-described endemic species are highlighted in the report, such as a tiny frog found only in the northern Cederberg, which breeds in winter, and a rare Ixia (kalossie flower) discovered in the Wolseley area and recognised as a new species.
On species, Skowno noted that the population size may not correlate with genetic health and diversity, and new national genetic indicators have been developed to track this.
For example, Cape Mountain Zebra numbers (about 5,500) look good, said CapeNature ecologist Marienne de Villiers. Yet by the turn of the century this species was down to three isolated sub populations which were at risk, before they introduced mixed breeding between them.
Action against biodiversity crimes
The detailed scientific data in the report is presented as graphics and specialists at the conservation review said this data is key to conservation planning and policy.
So where does this information come from? Fieldwork, spatial analysis and ecological monitoring across river corridors, mountain fynbos and coastal habitats provide a “valuable snapshot of how species and ecosystems are faring amid ongoing pressures from land-use change, climate variability and biodiversity loss” said CapeNature GM for advocacy Petro van Rhyn.
Evidence-based data has practical value. For instance, the Western Cape’s Final Landscape Priority Map reveals which areas most urgently need protection, They are ranked #1, as “high biodiversity [areas] under immediate threat” and help inform the expansion of protected areas.
Tackling biodiversity crime is another priority for CapeNature officials, who contributed to the finalisation of 33 dockets handed to the National Prosecuting Authority. Of these, 27 cases are still in trial (one did not proceed), five have been finalised and 52 fines have been issued against offenders.
Environmental crimes and human impacts, including plastic and sewage pollution, threaten everyone’s security. People need healthy ecosystems for their fresh water, resilience against disease and protection against climate change, said Van Rhyn.
The new report makes clear that conservation is not only about saving the country's rivers or the Cape’s critically endangered Table Mountain ghost frog or the African penguin from extinction. It is about saving the planet for future generations by acting without delay and holding the government accountable to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework target: to protect 30% of the world’s oceans, rivers and lands by 2030.
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